Martin-Carnahan Debate Bleg

First, what's a "bleg"? Blogossary.com defines bleg: "To bleg is to write a blog entry or comment for the sole purpose of asking for something."

I need some help. What you're looking at above is all of the video I shot at the second Ed Martin - Russ Carnahan debate. Yes, Nick Ivanovich of the Constitution Party was there, too. The playlist above includes 27 clips. There are introductory remarks in the first and closing statements in the last. The 25 in between are the questions and answers from the three candidates—I was worried about running out of tape, so I cut Nick's answer on two to four of the later questions.

Here's how you can help. I need to title and describe each clip. The title should include the topic of the question asked (unfortunately, I missed some of the questions, so you'll have to base that on dissembling politicians in those cases). The description should be two to six sentences long and provide an overview (not a transcription) of the question. You can contribute your titles and descriptions in the Google spreadsheet I setup. Here's the procedure I recommend:

1. Open up the Google spreadsheet
2. Make a note in the description field that you're working on a video
3. Follow the link in the link column and watch the video
4. Go back to the Google spreadsheet and enter your title and two to six sentence description

I'll use the data in the spreadsheet to update my YouTube channel.

Why do this? you may ask... So the videos can be found with Google and YouTube search.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Ed Martin on Shop Local-Hire Local

Ed Martin, Russ Carnahan's Republican opponent, talks about his Shop local-Hire local initiative to help small businesses network with one another in Missouri's Third Congressional District. This interview was conducted in June while Ed was driving around south St. Louis city with two of his kids.

Phil Hare (D-IL) Faces a Tough Re-election Fight

Bob McCarty writes about labor union efforts to save Phil Hare (D-IL):

In short, the billboard messages paint Hare in the light of truth and are based on a number of incidents involving the the 17th Congressional District’s incumbent Democrat. Below are some examples:

1. On Dec. 15, Hare sided with the Obama Administration when he told a national television audience that terrorists at GITMO should be moved to Thomson, Ill.;

2. On April 1, Hare was captured on video saying, “I Don’t Worry About the Constitution”;

3. Four months ago, Hare reportedly told one of his aides to follow a constituent and get his license plate number so he could find out who he was;

4. On Aug. 27, Hare had one of his operatives file a complaint against Veterans4Constitution;

5. During a Labor Day parade in East Moline, Ill., he told a local television reporter he had received death threats, but never filed a police report, leading many to believe he was seeking sympathy; and

6. Throughout the campaign season, Hare has upset veterans by calling himself a veteran despite the fact that “veteran” status is, according to the federal government, “reserved for a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.”

Phil Hare's opponent is Republican Bobby Schilling.

Obama's Month-by-Month Job Approval at New Low

Rasmussen Reports on Obama's Approval Index Month-by-Month:

The number of voters who Strongly Disapprove of the president’s performance inched up a point to a new high of 44% in September. At the same time, the number who Strongly Approve held steady at 27%.

Barack Obama's Cynical Strategy

Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Obama, in an interview in Rolling Stone, aimed fire at those abandoning him: 'It is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines in this midterm election.' The Democratic base 'sitting on their hands complaining' is 'just irresponsible.... We have to get folks off the sidelines. People need to shake off this lethargy, people need to buck up. Bringing about change is hard—that's what I said during the campaign. ... But if people now want to take their ball and go home, that tells me folks weren't serious in the first place.'

At first I thought this was another example of the president's now-habitual political ineptness, his off-key-ness. You don't diss people into voting for you, you can't lecture them into love. The response from the left was fierce, unapologetic—and accusatory. Mr. Obama had let them down, he'd taken half measures. 'Stop living in that bubble,' shot back an activist on cable. But Jane Hamsher of the leftist blog Firedoglake saw method, not madness. She described the president's remarks as 'hippie punching' and laid them to cynical strategy: 'It's about setting up a narrative for who will take the blame for a disastrous election.' She said Mr. Obama's comments themselves could 'depress turnout.'

Ed Martin Volunteers Canvas South County

Volunteers for the Ed Martin (R) for Congress campaign gathered at the new Drury Inn at 55 and 141 in Arnold. After signing in, volunteers were given literature to distribute and street maps with their canvasing area marked. Martin's volunteer coordinator, Bob, told me that he had expected about 25 people. He had over 40 show up. That's great news; however, a lot more is needed to push Ed Martin over the top, so please volunteer if you are able!

Ed Martin was not there today. His grandmother, Miriam Howard McGonegal, died recently and he was attending a memorial mass for her in New Jersey Saturday morning.

Harvard Needs a Few, Good Signatures

Scott Brown (R-MA) is circulating a petition to return the Reserve Officers' Training Corp (ROTC) to Harvard University:

Sign this petition to tell Drew Gilpin Faust, the President of Harvard that it's time to accept The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) on campus.

By signing this petition, you agree that:

ROTC (The Reserve Officers' Training Corps) is an honorable service to the United States of America and that all students wishing to serve in ROTC should be allowed to exercise their service on the campus of Harvard.

Congress Puts Coastal America under the United Nations

According to authors Carmen Reynolds, Paul McKain, and Karen Schoen, the US House has voted to put our oceans and coasts under United Nations jurisdiction:

“It’s too late; it’ll just have to be stopped in the Senate,” Tom, the young male answering the phone in U.S. Rep. John Boehner’s (R-Ohio)Washington D.C. office, said about HR 3534 (CLEAR Act). This is the globalist bill designed to give away our land, oceans, adjacent land masses and Great Lakes to an international body, and makes us pay $900 million per year until 2040.

Register to Vote by Wednesday 10/6

The last day to register to vote in Missouri is next Wednesday, 10/6/2010. If you are not yet registered or would like to check your registration, please do so soon at the Missouri Voting Rights Center.

US Is 'Practically Owned' by China

CNBC quotes an analyst who says:

'America is practically owned by China,' he said.

He's wrong. China's stake in US Treasuries has fallen over the past year. Over the past two years, China's holdings of US debt have remained flat. They may be putting some of their US dollars to work on Wall Street—I haven't seen numbers on that—but the economic downturn combined with their steady position in treasuries leads me to believe that their just treading water.